Workshop: Drug Awareness

 

0.2 mg of fentanyl - fatal for most people. 
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

The San Mateo County Health Department has been proactive about increasing awareness about opioids in our community. It was through one of their tabling events that our group learned about the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center which runs AAD (alcohol and drug) awareness workshops for youth. We invited them to present to our group about the effects of opioids and cannabis, and their prevalence.

Our presenter Pagaloa was clearly experienced in presenting to youth - he opened up with a series of "Fact or Myth" questions to get us thinking. If it was a fact, there would be data to back it up, useful especially if the question would usually generate discussion or pushback (e.g. "Marijuana affects physical development in youth: Fact/Myth?" Answer below.) 

The first part of the presentation explained how prevalent marijuana use is (25% of 12th graders per NIH), its components (THC and CBD) and common names (people are, sadly, creative at hiding marijuana use under a variety of names).

One common question is, "If marijuana has negative effects on its users, why wasn't the older generation affected?". A key difference is potency - only 1-3% of earlier products were composed of THC, but modern products have a higher percentage, plus there is lack of regulation (it could even go up to 40-95%). 

He also talked about the two strains of marijuana: Sativa which acts as a stimulant (users feel more energetic) vs Indica which is a sedative (users feel more relaxed, handy mnemonic is "In-The-Couch"). People would choose which strain depending on what effect they are trying to achieve.  

This slide on how marijuana is uptaken was also eye-opening: basically, it's next to impossible to detect because of the variety of dispensing devices, some which look like USB drives.

Another sobering thought was the long term effect of cannabis use being linked to psychotic disorders. This Permanente Journal paper describes the association, but also notes that "Simply recognizing negative consequences may not provide sufficient motivation to stop."

The next section of the talk was on opioids - how they were originally used for pain management (different forms include morphine, fentanyl and codein), but overprescription (instead of behavioral therapies) and their addictive nature have created an epidemic.

More worryingly, youth may take up opioids because of their positive feelings of getting high, or to increase concentration for studying. However, the highly addictive nature leads to tolerance, ever increasing doses and higher possibility of overdose. If a user tries to detox, his tolerance decreases, paradoxically leading to higher possibility of overdose if he relapses even on a lower amount (loss of tolerance).

Finally, Pagaloa demonstrated for us how to use Naloxone/Narcan if we came across someone who had overdosed. The following video from the California Department of Public Health is also helpful.

We would like to thank the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and the San Mateo County of Health board for making training and resources available to community group like our homeschoolers. We walked away with increased awareness and topics of conversation to understand the world around us, and how to respond in a helpful way. 

 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2.